Waxvwuisaxv (Heiltsuk: w̓áxv:w̓uísax̌v) is the unceded traditional territory, jurisdiction and country of the Heiltsuk nation. It is also called Haíɫzaqv W̓áwís and Heiltsuk Country. Waxvwuisaxv includes "the land, the submerged land, the surface water, the groundwater, the ocean, the sub-surface[, ]the air space" and over 17,000 square kilometers of territorial waters. Waxvwuisaxv also includes the Heiltsuk's relationship with their territory, with Waxvwuisaxv sometimes being translated as, 'We take good care of our territories'.
Biogeography
Waxvwuisaxv is part of Cascadia and encompasses 35,553 square kilometers of inlets, islands and mountains. It flanks the central Inside Passage, from Calvert Island in the south to Milbanke Sound in the north, inland as far as Kimsquit and expanding for miles into the Pacific Ocean. The country is famous for being part of the Great Bear Rainforest, which sustains much of the Earth's remaining coastal temperate rainforests and wild salmon stocks. The forest is dominated by old growth western red cedar and Sitka spruce trees. The rainforest has a population of grizzly bears and the only known population of religiously important spirit bears. Due to logging by the Canadian government, a supermajority of the old growth trees of Waxvwuisaxv have been cut. Bears are an important part of the cultural and religious geography of Waxvwuisaxv and are part of many Heiltsuk songs, dances and lineage crests. Grizzly bears regularly travel between the human and spirit worlds and can even transform into humans.
In the coastal waters of Waxvwuisaxv are vast kelp forests. In spring, schools of herring (called Wanai by the Heiltsuk) come from the Pacific Ocean into the Inside Passage to lay their eggs on the kelp, sea grasses and tree branches of the shallow waters for protection. The Heiltsuk have long harvested the herring for food and it is an important food both culturally and politically. According to their religion, the herring were brought to Waxvwuisaxv by Raven. Herring during their spawning season are so abundant they're referred to as Herring balls. Herring populations collapsed around 1968 due to commercial overfishing and never recovered. Waxvwuisaxv is part of the Pacific Northwest region. It borders Kulhulmcilh, the Wuikinuxv and the Kwakwakawakw to its south. To its north, it borders the Haisla and Tsmsyen. Off the western coast sits Haida Gwaii. Waxvwuisaxv overlaps with Canada and British Columbia. The Heiltsuk people themselves currently mostly live on Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on Campbell Island. Nowadays, about 50% of the Heiltsuk have to live outside of Waxvwuisaxv, mostly in Nanaimo, Vancouver and Victoria. The Heiltsuk in Waxvwuisaxv suffer from unemployment as high as 85% and leave to earn an income so they can survive.
Heiltsuk lifeways
Heiltsuk selectively harvest weaker fish when fishing for salmon. This, alongside clearing debris from the rivers, allows the rest of the salmon to move further upstream and breed the next generation. Pacific herring egg harvest season starts in March when herring begin spawning on kelp. Herring themselves are harvested using nets, rakes and fish traps. They then are smoked and dried to be eaten later. When harvesting herrings, the Heiltsuk don't kill all the herring. Instead, they take eggs from kelp fronds and hemlock branches, leaving some eggs behind for the years to come. Harvested herring and their eggs are sometimes traded with neighbors, especially in times of local scarcity. They are also eaten for ceremonial feasting. Herring and salmon are brought to different locations to grow their range and population. For berry picking, some berries are left behind each year. Branches of berry bushes are broken off and spread around to propagate them. Heiltsuk also prune blueberry, huckleberry, currant and salmonberry bushes. Bears are traditionally hunted rarely and not for recreation. Heiltsuk lifeways and knowledge are "...developed through careful observation, experimentation, monitoring, and sampling, perhaps at times driven by shortage or necessity" and are done in accordance with Heiltsuk gvilas.
Harvesting herring involves picking the most suitable place in accordance to the areas' cultural and physical biogeography. Heiltsuk fishers then build herring traps so they can pen herring in and then selectively choose which herring to take. One type of trap is built to be like a fence, which is narrow enough to catch herring. Herring and other fish move past the traps during high tide becoming trapped by the rock walls and fencing when the tide recedes. Before herring populations plummeted, they can be scooped from the water using baskets, nets, buckets and rakes. The remnants of abandoned stone fish traps and fencing are common in Waxvwuisaxv, as they are across the region. These open pens were also used to protect the fish so that they could spawn and leave. During the herring harvest, Heiltsuk refrain from making loud noises and harvesting clams. They also view the herring as sensitive to the presence of blood, so they often set up hunting bans to avoid this.
Governance Ǧvi̓ḷás are the customary laws governing the Heiltsuk nation, Waxvwuisaxv and the Heiltsuk's relationships with all people (whether spirits, plants, other humans or other animals) living within Waxvwuisaxv. It is the Indigenous legal order of the Heiltsuk. Gvilas embodies the values, beliefs, teachings, actions, experiences and principles of the Heiltsuk people. Gvilas is used by Heiltsuk to balance the health of their land with their own needs. It works toward unity between the various legal persons who each have unique relationships, responsibilities and obligations. Gvilas is also used for foreign relations, such as the recent treaty between the Heiltsuk and Haida in 2015.
Potlatches are central to the governance of Waxvwuisaxv. Potlatches are a forum to affirm various legal matters such as marriages, economic transactions, clan membership, adoptions, funerals, social rank, names/offices and land use rights. It is a ceremony that involves speeches, feasting, singing, dances, rituals and gifting. It is held in a large sacred building called a big house. At potlatches, the Yimas discuss the laws of their nation and then revise or reaffirm them if needed.
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